Symantec suspends deal talks with Broadcom over price disagreements

Symantec suspends takeover talks after Broadcom cuts bid price by $1

Security software maker Symantec has suspended takeover talks with Broadcom over a disagreement on price

The two companies were in advanced talks over a Broadcom acquisition of Symantec, and had aimed to announce a deal today, according to CNBC.

Broadcom had lured Symantec to the table with an indication that it was willing to pay as much as $28.25 per share in cash. However, according to the usual 'people familiar with the matter', the company later lowered its bid by more than $1 per share. Symantec has walked away from the talks in response.

Discussions between the two companies may resume in the coming days, although that would depend on whether they can reach a consensus on price.

A deal price of $28.25 would have valued Symantec at about $17.5 billion.

The suspension of talks raises new questions over the future of the US security software provider, which has struggled in recent years as rivals boom and the market as a whole grows at pace of around 12 per cent per annum.

The company currently faces stiff competition in the market offering protection to mobile devices, and is absent from areas such as security forensics and investigation.

Partly as a consequence, Symantec has also undergone a high level of management turnover. Last month, the company's CEO Greg Clark resigned from his post after the company missed revenue estimates for the fourth quarter.

The end of deal talks also means that chip maker Broadcom has failed to get two high-profile deals over the line in the past 18 months. Last year, the company was forced to cancel a $117 billion acquisition bid for Qualcomm after President Trump blocked the effort citing national security grounds.

The chip maker is currently looking to expand its business beyond semiconductors and into software - although it's unclear exactly what its business strategy is beyond buying a number of large players and mashing them together.

Last year, it acquired business software firm CA Technologies in a $18.9 billion deal.